SQUA SH QUEENSLAND

NEWSLETTER © 2017

© QSM January 201 8 - Issue 1 7

QUEENSLANDER Q SQUASH NEWS Editorial Happy New Year!

Well Queensland will be the center of attention in January with back to back Platinum events taking place in the Sunshine State.

Redcliffe PCYC will be hosting the Oceania Junior Championships followed by the Trans Tasman Test Match between Australia and New Zealand.

After that the Australian Junior Open will be played at Nerang on the Gold Coast. NERANG SQUASH & FITNESS 151 entries have been received for the OJC and just short of 200 for the AJO.

Good luck to all the Queenslanders competing.

The Cover: 1. at the 2017 Men’s World Team Championships. 2. winning the 2017 Australian Open. 3. The Captains of the mighty Queensland Sharks, Courtney Mather and Nic Calvert, display the shield recognising the Sharks 14th consecutive victory of the overall combined team championship. 4. The incredible 2017 Sharks . Despite only winning one age group the sharks performed consistently well across all age groups to win the combined title.

Squash Media has introduced a new feature to their website. Check out photos from our major events. Go to squashmedia.com.au and select Event Photos. Photos from the 2017 Q Open and Cairns International have been uploaded. If you would like squashmedia to upload photos for your event simply contact Kim .com.au on 0407126911 ... its FREE!

Toni van der Kreek will be covering the Oceania Junior Championships and the Australian Junior Open.

Kim Schramm  0407126911  [email protected] Tick Tock ... Under 100 Days to Go

Christine Nunn S WD The 2018 Australian Commonwealth Games Team has been announced. Donna Urquhart S WD XD Rachael Grinham WD XD David Palmer will be making his 6th appearance at WD a CG but will only play in one event with partner Zac Alexander. S Rachael Grinham will be making her 5th S MD XD appearance and has been selected as a doubles specialist! She will most likely partner Donna David Palmer MD Urquhart in the Women’s Doubles and Ryan S Cuskelly in the Mixed. S MD XD Congratulations to Queenslanders Zac Alexander Zac Alexander MD and Rachael Grinham on your selection. It is so pleasing to see Zac make the team. Zac had an awful experience in Glasgow in 2014.

Zac was selected for his first CG team ahead of but Matt appealed and was ultimately successful. The sad thing for everyone concerned was the time it took to go through the entire appeal process ... over 2 months!

Zac was actually in the Games Village when the Court of Arbitration for Sport finally handed down their decision. After 3 days of preparation at the CG venue, Zac left the Village on the day of the Opening Ceremony!

At the time Zac was absolutely shattered but today he is on top of the World. He is officially in his first CG team at home! 93 OUR AUSSIE TOP 10 PSA PLAYERS Rachael Grinham was the only Queenslander to play on the PSA World Tour during December.

It’s OUT! The 2017 Australian Squash Player Annual has been published. The 4th edition can now be downloaded at the following link: ALEXANDER http://squashmedia.com.au/products/207/ASP2017.pdf

Rachael Grinham #2 Sivasangari Subramaniam L SF CAS International 9-11, 7-11, 5-11 Nadine Shahin W QF CAS International 11-4, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7 (41m) Tong Tsz-Wing W R1 CAS International 11-6, 11-8, 11-2 (23m) Annie Au L R1 World Championship 3-11, 3-11, 7-11 (21m) Lisa Aitken W Q World Championship 11-3, 11-7, 11-2 (21m) Haley Mendez W Q World Championship 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 (23m) Zeina Mickawy L SF Monte Carlo Classic 11-5, 12-10, 3-11, 7-11, 4-11 (42m) Millie Tomlinson W QF Monte Carlo Classic 12-14, 10-12, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7 (59m) Tinne Gilis W R1 Monte Carlo Classic 11-3, 13-11, 12-10 (36m) PSA WORLD RANKings as at 1 JANUARY 2018

TM LM HR WHEN TM LM HR WHEN Zac Alexander 128 126 36 Sep-12 Rachael Grinham 29 32 1 Aug-04 130 129 89 Jul-15 76 78 73 Dec-16 Thomas Calvert 158 155 155 Dec-17 Taylor Jones 169 188 145 Apr-17 Alex Eustace 203 206 203 Jan-18 Courtney Mather 183 210 183 Jan-18 Joel Luca 209 212 209 Nov-17 Solayman Nowrozi 228 230 189 Jul-17 Courtney West 251 258 218 Feb-12 Lachlan Coxsedge 298 303 298 Apr-17 Nicholas Calvert 347 351 316 Feb-13 Ethan Eyles 467 522 467 Jan-16 Ben Courtice 483 551 333 Jan-18 2017 Queensland Highlights 2017 was definitely an interesting year in terms of success.

It began a little sadly when we had to say “Good Bye” to Natalie Grinham at the Tournament of Champions. Grinham has officially retired from the PSA World Tour. Thank you Natalie for wonderful memories you left behind.

Hayley Hankinson got the year off to a good start by winning the U15G Australian Junior Open Championship in Darwin in January. Sadly, her coach Kay Barclay passed away in early February.

Zac Alexander kicked off his 2017 campaign in style dropping just 14 points against arch rival Josh Larkin at the Elanora PSA M5 event. Larkin was left shaking his head after winning their last encounter at the Brisbane Open in late 2016.

Squash Australia reintroduced the Australian Closed and played the Championships in Townsville in March. It was fitting that Zac Alexander who dominated the 2016 Domestic Tour won the PSA National Closed Satellite event in straight.

In September a number of Queenslanders won Australian Masters Titles: Jeff Osborne M35-39, Jim Mobbs M60-64, Brian Cook M70-74, Melissa Martin W40-44, Sue Williams W55-59, Kathy Paterson W65-69, Robyne Bamberry W75-79 and Jan Whackett W80-84.

Queenslanders Nick Calvert (U19B) and Madison Lyon (U13G) won individual titles at the Australian Junior Championships in September/October.

The Sharks were menacing in early October winning their 14th straight Australian Junior Combined Team Championship,

October was a big month in Queensland in terms of PSA events. The Brisbane Open (PSA Closed Satellite) got things underway before an upgraded Q Open (PSA M10 and W10) was played on the Gold Coast. Rounding out the month was the staging of the 2nd Cairns International (PSA M5 and W5). Unfortunately, no Queenslanders won any of these events.

Whilst nobody was shining in Queensland in October, Zac Alexander was causing havoc in Canada at the White Oaks Court Classic. The #8 seed was all conquering defeating Canada’s best two players (#2S Nick Sachvie and #5S Shawn Delierre) in the lead up to the PSA M10 final before capturing his 27th Tour Title against #4S Christopher Binnie.

November saw Rachael Grinham “turn back time” to win the PSA W10 Australian Open in Darwin. The 40 year old, #1S, was all smiles after winning her first title since 2014. 2018 AFFILIATION

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Remote Member Registration - See Note 1 $33 per year Associate / Social Registration $33 per year (Non-playing members) Q Squash Club Registration - See Note 2 - $250 per year

Note: 1. Remote Member definition is for players whose primary club is greater than 300km from a major squash centre (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton, Mackay) and entitles players to Player Insurance.

Note 2. Q Squash Club Registration is for Clubs who wish to be Q Squash Affiliated and entitled to Public Liability Insurance and the other club entitlements including Government Grants, Sanctioned Events, etc. but do not have 80% of members registered.

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Otherwise you will need to sign up for a FREE SportyHQ account.

Having problems? Email [email protected] Q SQUASH NEWS Toowoomba Needs Squash

It is “the final nail in the coffin” for Toowoomba Squash!

The last Squash Centre in operation in Toowoomba has been sold and will be demolished for redevelopment of the site in the coming months.

Ron and Susan Crossley started their squash journey in Toowoomba in the early 80's when Susan's father was the owner of the Olive Grove Squash Centre and he needed someone to run it temporarily.

Ron and Susan decided to buy the Centre in 1990, and so their involvement in squash in Toowoomba Phil Rae playing an exhibition has remained steadfast until now, a span of almost 40 match against World years. Their lives have revolved around squash, Champion Jahangir Khan at making a lifetime of wonderful memories and Premier Squash Courts in friendships within the game. Toowoomba in 1982.

In the hey day of Toowoomba Squash, there were 8 known centres, and 4 large ones running competitions suitable for everyone. These were Premier, Olive Grove, Willows and Blake Street.

The men's competition ranged from A to J Grade, and the ladies from A to G Grade. Toowoomba was a huge squash town with almost every person playing socially or in competitions at some stage of their lives.

The centres were a hive of activity, with all courts booked for social games, and the competitions only starting at 8pm most evenings. We could still be completing our matches at midnight, but there was always still time for a cold beer and light supper to finish off our evening.

Squash training was another huge part of our squash family in the 80's and 90's, and it would always be followed by a few cold beers and a barbie.

Toowoomba has produced Squash World champion sisters, Rachael and Natalie Grinham. Their father, John Grinham, is still a keen squash player today in Toowoomba.

Rachael is a professional squash player who won the World Open in 2007 and the British Open in 2003 / 2004 / 2007 and 2009. Q SQUASH NEWS Toowoomba Needs Squash

Her sister Natalie Grinham achieved a World #2 ranking in 2007 but is best known for winning 3 Gold Medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

1981 World Champion Rhonda Thorne was also born in Toowoomba.

Today, there are still over 200 people Kerry Shine is a supporter playing squash every week. It would therefore be devastating to consider that this game should die with the closure of the James Street Courts (formerly known as Olive Grove).

Today, Toowoomba thrives as a large, diverse and multicultural city and we must take action now to ensure that this is not the end for squash.

We must remember the positive points for playing squash. It is an indoor sport making it sun smart, can be played in any weather, and any time of the day. It is an excellent cardio workout, and is probably one of very few sports still run by private enterprise, without receiving any outside financial assistance.

“We feel it would be the right time for the University of Southern Queensland or a local school to be involved in the building of a new eight court centre” said Ron.

Toowoomba Squash Inc. committee is working on ways to help fund a new centre by meeting with local State and council representatives. Labor representative, Kerry Shine, is confident the current State Government will be supportive.

The local radio station, Triple M, has spoken with some committee members on air about the need for squash courts in Toowoomba and has offered continuing support for our cause.

Lastly, a fund raising account has been set up, allowing donations to be tax deductible. The donation page can be found at: https://asf.org.au/donate/toowoomba-needs-squash/

Let's all get behind our cause and help build a new squash centre in this great city of Toowoomba and keep this wonderful game alive and kicking.

The Toowoomba Needs Squash team can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/toowoombaneedssquash/ THE

Photographer - Toni van der Kreek During the OJC and AJO you will see one of the best squash photographers taking lots of photos to capture the action both on and off the court. Toni van der Kreek is no stranger to many of the junior players as they have probably seen her previously at many of the major events with her sons Ben, Jon and these days Robbie.

Squash Media loves Toni. Her photos make our publications come to life! She volunteers her time to capture memories and she is a delight to deal with.

This interview looks to uncover her motivation and get some much needed tips from her so everyone can learn how to take better squash photos! It also looks back at one of her most significant achievements of 2017 ... being an official photographer at the Rugby League State of Origin Decider between Queensland and NSW.

How did you get into photographing squash?

My kids started to play junior comps more often and I noticed that no photos were being taken and if they did they were using an iphone / ipad so the quality was not that good and we all wanted to see some photos after the event.

At that same time I had recently upgraded my camera, so I thought I would give it a go and try take some squash photos. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was fun and I managed to get some good shots. I’ve always liked to help out but being stuck in the kitchen was not my thing so I found I was able to help by just taking photos. After the first comp I took photos at, I did some research and purchased a few different lenses and got totally hooked into photography.

I’ve had lots of help along the way from other Squash parents including John Lockton and Tim Harradine.

What advice would you give to anyone taking squash shots that would improve their results quickly? PHOTOGRAPHER THE Toni van der Kreek www.facebook.com/TKreekPhotography

Toni’s Top 5 Tips

1. Try shutter priority or full manual mode on your camera. (Shutter speed anywhere from 1/160 to 1/250, ISO leave as Auto, however if you don’t like the grainy look see if you can set a max ISO setting eg anywhere from 1000 to 3200. Hint: Set your camera to overexpose by 2-4 stops ... the white squash walls can trick the camera.

2. Use continuous auto-focus mode and maybe try back button focus

3. I like to get photos with the players face and if possible the ball in the shot

4. Take lots of crowd shots – they are always great to see

5. Have fun!!!

You spend many hours taking shots and uploading them to the internet. What motivates you to do this?

Good question!!! I must be mad, but I honestly do love taking sport photos, I like the colours, the movement of players, the challenge of getting a different type of shot, the natural expressions of the players, they are not fake but real emotions. Also, trying to pick the moment when some action will happen and when the desperate shots get played.

One of my favourite comps of 2017 was the BJO at Alex Hills on Mother’s Days it was really nice to get some Mum and son/daughter photos.

What camera do you use?

Nikon D500 now, which is a semi pro sports camera and shoots 10fps.

My go-to lens would be the Nikon 24-70mm 2.8, it’s fast to focus and at f/2.8 you can have faster shutter speeds as more light can get in.

The camera lens is just as important as the camera body.

You won a competition to officially photograph rugby league players from the sideline in the State of Origin Decider? Did you enjoy the experience? Can you describe how it felt?

I was away with work doing a hard slog 4 day workshop, when I got an email from PHOTOGRAPHER THE Toni van der Kreek www.facebook.com/TKreekPhotography

NRL media to sign in and submit my details. I thought I might have a chance but I was still not sure if I won. So I tried to not get too excited and submitted my details while having to take a selfie in the hotel as they also needed a recent photo. Later that morning, I got the official call from Nikon to say that I had won a place in this comp. I had to leave the conference room quickly to do celebration dance in the hallway!

Once I told the kids they all wanted to know if I could take someone to carry my bags. My Mum thought it was funny as she knew I knew nothing about NRL apart from the colours of the QLD/NSW teams.

The SOO3 night went in a blur, it was a great night and a once in a life time experience. The highlight of the game was the first try which was right next to our seats.

I have printed a number of the photos from that game and had them framed with my ID card for the night.

What is your favourite squash shot?

Very hard to narrow down, so I only looked back at my 2017 photos. I’ve chosen these two photos because I can’t resist a good B & W photo, plus this match between Tamika Saxby and Samantha Foyle was my favourite match for the whole tournament.

PHOTOGRAPHER THE Toni van der Kreek www.facebook.com/TKreekPhotography

What is your favourite shot of all time?

Really any photo from the WJC 2016 in Poland, so I’ve picked this one as it was a real treat to take photos at night on a full glass court with Steve Cubbins.

Can’t wait until QLD has its own permanent glass court!

This shot was used on the Oceania Junior Championship Poster!

It is a shot of Will Curtis from Western Australia.

What is your favourite State of Origin shot?

I’ve picked this photo of Valentine Holmes because it depicts the raw emotion of an athlete achieving a brilliant moment.

Queensland Captain Cameron Smith is also caught running in to congratulate Holmes after he scored the first try.

For the record Queensland won the match and the series. Definitely a wonderful experience for me.

Thanks Toni ... thank you so much for allowing Squash Media to use your squash shots! PHOTOGRAPHER THE Toni van der Kreek www.facebook.com/TKreekPhotography

Here are Squash Media’s Favourite 3 x Toni Van der Kreek shots!

Samantha Foyle

Alex Eustace Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster tackling Andrew Fafita

National Junior Rankings

Australian Junior Squash Tour TOP 5 Rankings as at 1/1/18

U11 Boys U13 Boys U15 Boys 1 Eric Marsh WA Andre Lynn VIC Greg Chan WA 2 Zane Wolpers QLD Ben Murray QLD Oscar Curtis WA 3 Aiden Finlay-Mulligan SA Aryan Madan SA Eric Gray WA 4 Augustus Davis WA Mitchell Ferrari WA BJ MacDonald QLD 5 Jonathan Groenewald WA Daniel Marsh WA Oscar Lindsey WA

U17 Boys U19 Boys 1 Remi Young WA Nick Calvert QLD 2 Abel Jin WA Lachlan Coxsedge QLD 3 Sam Sergo NSW Jacob Ford NSW 4 Toby Moore TAS Jack Hudson TAS 5 Wes Dyer QLD Maaz Khatri SA Photo courtesy of Tony Sergo U11 Girls U13 Girls U15 Girls 1 Haylee Besant NSW Madison Lyon QLD Katie Davies QLD 2 Maja Maziuk NSW Shona Coxsedge QLD Ella Burge QLD 3 Tara Davies QLD Janaanii Sukunesan VIC Erin Classen WA 4 Sienna Butcher NSW Courtney Scholtz VIC Amber Chen ACT 5 Tara Black NSW Charlotte Stephenson QLD Eishaanii Sukunesan VIC

U17 Girls U19 Girls 1 Alex Haydon SA Jessica Graham VIC 2 Pascale Louka WA Courtney Mather QLD 3 Kiara Chen ACT NSW 4 Mackenzie Sleep QLD Kiara Rogers WA 5 Eva Corkery ACT Grace Pattison TAS SCOTTVALE PARK VENUE ADDRESS: 271 Richardson Road, North Rockhampton QLD 4701

Q UEENSLAND J UNIOR C HAMPIONSHIPS

Individual Championship Team Championship Sun day 1st July to Friday 6th July to Wednesday 4th July Sunday 8 th July

This poster is an early event notice to help you plan. Further dates, costs, sponsors and other information will be added in due course.

For more information contact: 2018 CALENDAR

JAN 11 14 QLD AJSTP Oceania Junior Championships Redcliffe PCYC JAN 14 14 QLD Masters QMSA Acacia Ridge Acacia Ridge JAN 15 16 QLD Juniors Trans Tasman Test Match Redcliffe PCYC JAN 18 21 QLD AJSTP Australian Junior Open Nerang JAN 27 28 QLD Masters QMSA Hervey Bay Hervey Bay FEB 17 18 QLD AJSTB Cairns Compulsory Junior Qualifier Sportsworld, Cairns FEB 17 18 QLD Masters QMSA Southport Southport FEB 18 18 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Qualifier Southern Region FEB 25 25 QLD AJSTB Acacia Ridge Junior Open Acacia Ridge MAR 3 4 QLD X W5 Brisbane City - PSA W5 Brisbane MAR 10 11 QLD Masters QMSA Stafford Stafford MAR 17 18 QLD AJSTB Townsville Junior Qualifier Townsville MAR 18 18 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Qualifier Southern Region MAR 25 25 QLD AJSTB Redcliffe PCYC Junior Open Redcliffe PCYC APR 415 QLD MAJOR Commonwealth Games Gold Coast APR 22 22 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Qualifier Southern Region APR 28 29 QLD AJSTS Brisbane Junior Open Brisbane MAY 4 6 QLD Masters QMSA State Titles Acacia Ridge MAY 5 6 QLD AJSTS Southern Region Qualifier Southern Region MAY 5 6 QLD AJSTS Mackay Junior Compulsory Qualifier Mackay Leisure MAY 5 6 QLD Doubles Daisy Hill Doubles Championships Daisy Hill MAY 20 20 QLD AJSTB Brisbane Junior Tournament Brisbane MAY 26 27 QLD Masters QMSA Alex Hills Goodlife, Alex Hills JUN 10 10 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Qualifier Southern Region JUN 16 17 QLD Masters QMSA Gympie Victory, Gympie JUN 23 24 QLD Masters QMSA Gladstone Gladstone

Queensland Masters Squash Association

Check out their website http://qmsa.asn.au/·

Email: [email protected] · 2018 CALENDAR

JUL 1 4 QLD AJSTG QLD Junior Championships Scottvale Park JUL 6 8 QLD Juniors QLD Junior Team Championships Scottvale Park JUL 7 8 QLD Masters QMSA Nerang Nerang JUL 28 28 QLD Masters QMSA Daisy Hill Daisy Hill AUG 5 5 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Junior Qualifier Southern Region AUG 5 5 QLD AJSTB Brisbane Junior Tournament Brisbane AUG 18 19 QLD Masters QMSA Maroochydore Maroochydore SEP 2 2 QLD Doubles Brisbane Junior Doubles Open Brisbane SEP 9 9 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Junior Qualifier Southern Region OCT 6 7 QLD Masters QMSA Carseldine Carseldine OCT 11 14 QLD M10 W10 Q Open - PSA M10 W10 TBC QLD OCT 13 14 QLD AJSTB Ingham Junior Qualifier Ingham OCT 21 21 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Qualifier Southern Region OCT 21 28 QLD AJSTB Stafford Junior Open Stafford OCT 25 28 QLD M5 W5 Cairns Open - PSA M5 W5 Sportsworld Cairns OCT 27 28 QLD Masters QMSA Labrador Gold Coast NOV 10 11 QLD Masters QMSA PCYC Ipswich Ipswich PCYC NOV 11 11 QLD AJSTB Southern Region Junior Qualifier Southern Region NOV 18 18 QLD AJSTB Barrett Property Junior Classic Sandgate DEC 1 2 QLD Masters QMSA PCYC Redcliffe Redcliffe PCYC

Note: This calendar is subject to change. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the calendar but promoters and tournament organisers can change dates at short notice. Events can also be added.

As soon as you have a poster prepared for your event, please send it to [email protected] You can either send a pdf or jpg file of the poster. We recommend you promote your event 3 to 6 months prior to its commencement. After the event we encourage you to send Squash Media a short report with separate good quality images of presentations, court action or social shots. Ideally, we would like to receive images greater than 100kb that are not blurred. YOUR Q SQUASH BOARD President: Jonathan James (Brisbane) (E) [email protected] Vice President: Nathan Turnbull (Brisbane) Treasurer: Ros Preston (Central ) Director: Rhonda Hite (Central) Director: Mario DiBella (Northern) Director: Nathan Stevenson (Southern) Director: Rhys Mountford-Jones (Southern)

Contact your If everyone supports, everyone gains! centre operator for more Junior Pathway information $66 pa Junior Rankings SQUA SH or $40 per Queensland Sharks half year Player, Coach and Referee Development Player Accident Insurance

Your affiliation to squash is invited and would be very much appreciated.

Brisbane based Squash Photographers Toni van der Kreek and John Lockton have kindly agreed for their squash images to be used in this publication.

www.facebook.com/TKreekPhotography www.facebook.com/johnlocktonphotography (new) www.facebook.com/johnrevel.locktonfamily (old)

Would like to invite contributors from all regions of Queensland to make regular contributions to this newsletter. squashmedia .com.au PROMOTE RECOGNISE& THANK Please contact Kim on : 040 7126 911 or email [email protected]